Nine people were given suspended sentences by a Macedonian court on May 23 for their part in a rampage at the Balkan nation's parliament last month that left several politicians battered and bloodied.

The court in the capital, Skopje, handed down suspended sentences ranging from six months to one year to the nine people, all of whom pleaded guilty to charges of entering parliament by force and fighting with security officials.

The angry invasion of the parliament on April 27, which included masked men, resulted in dozens of journalists and lawmakers being injured, including Social Democratic Union leader Zoran Zaev.

Zaev is now attempting to form a government and become Macedonia's prime minister after he received a mandate from President Gjorge Ivanov, who had previously refused to do so.

The attack on parliament came after the appointment of an ethnic Albanian, Talat Xhaferi, as parliament speaker.